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Fishers
of Men By Massimo Lorenzini[1] “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men” (Mark 1:17).[2] We ought to remember not only what we are, but also think of what Christ can make us. We should not only repent of what we have been, but rejoice in what we may be. It is not, “Follow me because of what you already are.” It’s not “follow me because of what you can be in and of yourself.” But rather, “Follow me and I will make you become.” When we were saved, we didn’t think of what we might become. Likewise, it didn’t seem likely that lowly Galilean fishermen would become apostles; that those who worked nets would become teachers and preachers of the Word of God, founders of churches, and create an international movement that would span millennia. Yet that is what Jesus made His first followers to become. It’s an astounding thought that those of us who were once fish swimming and living in an ocean of sin should be fished for and caught with the gospel net and then to be transformed, equipped, and assigned to work the nets ourselves. Not only is our conversion a work of God’s grace, so to is His ability to make us who were fish to become fishers. If we are truly saved, the work is only half done until we are employed to bring others to Christ. We are only half formed into the image of our Lord. We have not attained to the full development of our calling until we have begun to enter the work of fishing for men. We are not to rest until we have spent our short time on earth leading others to our merciful Savior. We do not follow Him only for own salvation and sanctification, but also to be added to that great company of laborers who are working to bring yet more into the kingdom. The reality is that our lives are short, but a vapor, and the days are evil and growing worse daily. Society is falling headlong into moral corruption and facing the eventual judgment of God. As the days grow darker, the need increases for us to take our lamps, however small and feeble they may be, and set them upon lampstands so that we may give light to all those around us. Rather than isolating ourselves from the darkness, we are to invade it with the light we have received and rescue those who are being held captive. We must set ourselves to prayer and the Word for our spiritual nourishment and blessing that we might be a blessing to those who are lost. Our Lord gave us something to do and something He
promises to do for us. Our text in Mark 1:17 tells us that Jesus has given us both something to do and something He promises to do for us. First, he gave us something to do—to follow Him. In what we shall we follow Him? Firstly, by being consecrated to Him. We are to set ourselves apart from the world in order to follow Him. We will be of no use to drowning sinners if we ourselves are not standing out of the water. We must separate ourselves from ungodliness and worldly pursuits in order to devote ourselves to following our Master. One reason Christians have so little influence on the world is because so many Christians are being influenced by the world. Secondly, in our effort to follow Christ we must abide with Him. We are to associate with Him and be taught by Him. We are to learn of Him whatever it is He has to teach us and so be a good disciple. Our worldview, values, and passions are to increasingly imitate His so that gradually the glory of God consumes our ambitions, motivations, and affections. We delight to lose ourselves in following Him and in so doing we find inexpressible joy as we drink from the fountain of life and rejoice in leading others to that same fountain. Jesus teaches us the true meaning of life. Thirdly, we are to follow the Lord Jesus in loyal obedience. We must demonstrate our faith by our works. “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked” (1 John 2:6). Failure to obey will lead to failure in man-fishing. In what ways then are we to obey? We are to obey by believing and teaching the doctrines of Christ, not the ideas of men (Matt 28:20). We must believe what He believed and preach what He preached. If we would become fishers of men, we must be faithful heralds of His message. However, many today are forsaking the teachings of Christ and propagating instead the vain machinations of human speculation. They are content to lean on their own understanding (Prov 3:5). They are willing to soften the hard demands of Christ in order to make the message more palatable to the hearer. In so doing they are following themselves and not Christ. We must follow Him if we would become fishers of men. We obey not only in our doctrine, but in our practice. We are to be holy because He is holy (1 Pet 1:16). We are not only to proclaim truth, but walk in the truth (3 John 4). “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:6-7). There is a cost involved in following Jesus. We are called to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Him (Matt 16:24). As we follow in holy allegiance to Him, He promises to effect the change is us—“I will make you become fishers of men.” As we imitate His doctrine and His holiness, He promises to make us influential to those around us. As we follow our Lord by consecrating ourselves to Him, abiding in Him, imitating Him in word and deed, He will make us become fishers of men. This is what He will do. He will providentially superintend our lives so as to open doors that no man can shut and shut doors no man can open (Rev 3:7). He will reward our obedience by guiding us and using us in the lives of others. “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name” (Rev 3:8). We will find that He has prepared others to receive our testimony with gladness (Acts 2:41). When we follow the Lord closely we will be sensitized to His will and working around us. As soon as we see a person we will be prompted to speak with them and to bring the conversation to the matter of his or her eternal salvation. We will speak on His authority with His Words in the power of His Spirit resulting in His elect being called out to join His church. It is a work of faith to become fishers of men. Nobody is as dependent upon God as the fisher of men. We rightly acknowledge our weakness and inability to turn sinners from darkness to light. This inability will only cause us to rely on His strength and His ability. He delights to make us fishers of men. He is glorified in using those redeemed from sin to tell other sinners the gospel, the good news, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Tim 1:15). We cannot predict the outcome of our witness to the lost. We simply trust and obey, being confident that as we follow Him, He will make us fishers of men. We have yet to see what our Lord can do with us if we consistently follow Him. We are surrounded by a mass of lost souls. The fish are plentiful indeed. We need only to obey our Lord by letting down our nets and see what great a catch He will provide (John 21:6). Let us not be as many who are not tending to their nets. Let us not be carried away with lesser things. If we will but follow Him, He will make us fishers of men. |
